Image via the SF Appeal

Troubled after reading a study that found that some 5,000 pets are injured in air transit every year, Nannette Bisher and her Corgi, Harry, decided to give Pet Airways a whirl yesterday:

“Every time I looked at Harry, I imagined this scene: Noisy, crowded O’Hare airport. Harry in a crate being carted off to cargo by a stranger. He is looking at me through the crate door. He’s scared. I’m a wreck. I just couldn’t do it.”

Nannette documents her (and Harry’s) journey in a blow-by-blow blog post on the SF Appeal’s website. So if you’ve ever considered putting your precious pup on Pet Airways, here’s your chance to see what it’s really like.

But if you’ve already given the service a try, do tell us what it was like in the comments!

1. Turkey Skin – On its own, turkey skin can be fatty and hard to digest, but on Thanksgiving it’s particularly bad (just think of the butter, oils and spices rubbed into it).  If you must share the turkey with your dog, do peel the skin off and cut the meat up into bite-sized pieces. And consider choosing the white meat over the dark for your pooch – it’s a little blander and easier to digest.

2. Cooked Bones - Whether your bird is duck, goose or turkey, do not give the bones to your dog. Any dog cartoon features Fido carrying a bone around in his mouth, but the reality is that a cooked bone is often brittle and sharp pieces can get lodged in your pet’s intestine. And bird bones are hollow and break easily.

3. Gravy/Buttery Side Dishes - This one goes hand-in-hand with the turkey skin. Fatty foods and trimmings can cause pancreatitis in dogs at worst and diarrhea or vomiting at “best.” ThePoop.com suggests substituting gravy with a little turkey broth if you really want to give your pup a treat.

4. Aluminum Foil and Plastic Wrap – Dispose of these when you’re done with them. There are two risks here: one, your pet will be licking the fatty substances off the wrappings, and two, swallowing these can cause an intestinal obstruction.

5. Chocolate - Not that we think that you would intentionally feed your dog chocolate (which we all know can be toxic to our canine friends), but since candy is often left out on tables for guests during the holidays, it made the list. Be sure to keep bowls filled with chocolate out of reach.

6. The Garbage Pail – A frustrated pet who can’t get a scrap out of his usually-generous parents may be tempted to dig around the trash bin and find a good number of the items listed above.

7. The Kitchen – Thanksgiving can be the busiest day of the year for the kitchen, and you’ll want to keep your pup out of there. With hot dishes being whisked from one counter to the next, there’s a chance a dog that’s under foot could be burned or cut if something were to shatter.

8. Holiday Plants – Sure it’s Thanksgiving, but a good number of people have already decked the halls with holly by this time. Know that Poinsettias, holly berries, mistletoe and Cedar Christmas trees are toxic to dogs.

9. Decorations – Glass ornaments and candles are just begging for trouble. Like the chocolate, keep these out of reach.

10. Guests Who Mean Well – Educate your less pet-savvy visitors (and hey, maybe even send them this list). A child may accidentally feed a dog some chocolate and your great aunt might think she’s being nice by sharing her turkey skin.

A good Samaritan, Gary DeNicola, rescued a stray dog running in traffic, most likely saving her life. What he didn’t realize at the time was he saved 10 lives,  she was pregnant. When he picked up the dog she was starving and emaciated, it looked like she had been nursing but when he searched the area for puppies but didn’t find any.

He took the dog home and put her in his spacious backyard to keep her safe, he was worried about bringing her in because he has a 12-year-old and wasn’t sure how he’d react. DeNicola planned on dropping the dog off at the shelter the next day, things didn’t work out exactly as planned.

Here are the details from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

That evening, on Sept. 27, DeNicola noticed the dog begin to hunker down in a garden bed. Next, she was giving birth to one, two, four, seven, and then nine black and tan puppies.

DeNicola began making calls to shelters and soon discovered many area animal rescue groups are at full capacity. People struggling financially had abandoned their animals, and many pets were turned out during the flood, he was told.

“And one shelter wouldn’t take the newborn pups until they were vaccinated,” he said. “I realized — they are mine.”

DeNicola is now raising the lucky litter on his own until he can find qualified, permanent homes. He built a special pen for the dogs in his basement, not wanting to mix the new deliveries with Tiger, who isn’t sure how to handle the strange sounds coming from below.

It’s always great to read a heartwarming animal story. A big thanks to DeNicola for stepping up to the plate and making a difference, we give him four big paws up.

If anyone is interested in adopting one of  Ruby’s adorable puppies you can contact DeNicola via email.

*Photo courtesy Katie Leslie

The blog is going to be going in a bit of a different direction, a little lighter.  This is great and I have no doubt it will be fantastic, but while working on the blog over the last 15 months Lisa and I have discovered we have a true passion when it comes to dog rescue. We want to continue working on the issues that have become so important to us, get the word out about all those dogs in need, let people know how they can help.

We will still be on Dogster everyday, and continue to be very active,  just not blogging. You can always reach me via pmail, Facebook, or Twitter.  You can stop by Bo’s site, BoKnowsOnline, or his new author page at BAD TO THE BONE MEMOIR.  And you can always order Bo’s book online at Amazon, or your favorite retailer.  We will continue to write freelance and are looking into working with Anna Nirva on Sunbear Squad, will update when I have more details.

Our time on the blog is coming to an end  so let’s make the most of it and have a great November.

She was a stray dog  in Moscow,  picked off the streets to be used in a history making event when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 with her in it.

Here are the details from the Paw Print Post on USA Today.

Laika and two other dogs, Albina and Mushka, underwent training prior to launch, including high-altitude flights and being kept in smaller and smaller cages. Laika was not just her name, but also what Russians called a northern breed known for their endurance.

Unfortunately, Laika died within hours of the launch from overheating and stress. Do you think it was alright that she was used in science? Give me a bark.

* Pic courtesy Associated Press

In the years since its discovery, grapefruit seed extract has been tested and validated by the FDA, USDA, the Pasteur Institute in France, and numerous physicians….The process converts the grapefruit bioflavonoids (polyphenolics) into an extremely potent compound that has been shown to be effective in treating hundreds of different organisms including: Shigella, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Giardia lamblia, Diplococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Mycobacterium species, Campylobacter, candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus, Salmonella, Klebsiella, Proteus, Cholera, Chlamydia trachomatis, Trichomonas vaginalis, Legionella pneumoniae, Helicobacter pylori, Herpes1, Influenza A2, and measles virus. It has been know to help with osteoporosis. GSE has been shown to kill both gram-negative and gram-positive strains of bacteria GSE has been proven in laboratory tests to be 10 to 100 times more effective as a disinfectant than chlorine, colloidal silver, and iodine.

It can help your canine companion with allergies by killing yeast in the intestines but not harming the good bacteria. If you like to take your dog swimming, or go hiking near streams or lakes, and your dog drinks the water it’s good to have grapefruit oil with you. A couple of servings of water that has been treated with the extract will kill off giardia (a parasite) that your dog might have swallowed while in the water.

Grapefruit oil is broad spectrum, non-toxic, cost-effective, from a natural source, doesn’t weaken the immune system,  and is powerful and effective.  Doctors are overwhelmingly positive in their evaluation.  Yet it is not nearly as well-known as tea tree oil so many people don’t even know it’s available as an alternative to traditional medications.

The article is very informative, go read in its entirety on The Examiner.